1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to construction where terminals are locked into a terminal-receiving cavities of a connector housing.
2. Prior Art
FIG. 12 shows a prior art connector as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Preliminary Publication No. 59-103382. In FIG. 12, a connector housing a includes a terminal-receiving cavity b extending in the direction in which the connector is inserted into the mating connector housing not shown. The terminal-receiving cavity b is provided with a resilient locking arm c and a stopper d therein. A bottom wall e is formed with an insertion hole g therein through which a male terminal f of the mating connector is to be fitted. A female terminal h has a female electrical contact hi and a crimp barrel h2.
As shown in FIG. 13, the female terminal h, which has the crimp barrel h2 connected to a wire i, is inserted from the rear of the housing into the terminal-receiving cavity b until the terminal abuts the stopper d. When the female terminal h has been fully inserted into the cavity, the resilient locking arm c engages the end portion of the female electrical contact h1 to prevent the terminal from being pulled out of the connector. With this prior art construction, the overall height of the connector is the sum of the height L of the female terminal h, the height L2 of the bottom wall e, and the height L3 of the upper wall which includes the deflection space C1 of the resilient locking arm c. Therefore, the only way of further miniaturizing the connector is to reduce these dimensions. However, each element must have a certain thickness for sufficient mechanical strength. Thus, this prior art construction places difficulty in further miniaturizing the connector.
FIGS. 14A and 14B show a conventional male terminal m inserted into a female terminal for electrical contact. In the Figures, the female electrical contact has a folded resilient contact k. The male terminal m is inserted into the terminal-receiving cavity for electrical contact with the folded resilient contact k. If the male terminal m is tilted as shown in FIG. 14B, then the resilient contact k is subjected to excessive deformation and may lose resiliency thereof.